can have negotiations with the united states and with the rest of the world. that s fantastic. - i know. - yes, it s going to be difficult. - it sucks, yeah. - it s going to be tough. - but i hear you. i mean, yeah, i i just think there has to be a choice made, you know, independence or statehood. - yeah. - i m more selfish. - well - because i i grew up in the states. so i want puerto rico to be a state. - it s never too late. if we have performed great on the past, it means that there is blood, that there is identity, that there is proud in puerto rico. and i invest all myself on that because i m pretty sure, from the ashes, they re going to come out a new era. so i m passionate about - i can see that. - i m passionate about it. [laughs] - good luck with that. - thank you. - i hope to come back and see a beautiful thriving ponce. - i m pretty sure you will. - thank you. and no, it s been awesome. - [chuckles] - thank you. you educated me. [upbeat latin-tinged music] change may be
- ah. - mixed race people are one major side effect of colonization. and being latino means that you are intrinsically of mixed blood. but who gets to decide how much of your dna makes you part of any one community? if indigenous blood is measured as proof of tribal membership, then depending on who sets the standard membership could also be denied. for bebe naniki and pluma, measuring dna alone is not as valuable as the stories and traditions passed down from their families. and the caguana ceremonial center is a big part of that.
of of a future puerto rico, that that s what puerto ricans have to decide. i have my position. - right. - i want my country to be an independent country that can have negotiations with the united states and with the rest of the world. that s fantastic. - i know. - yes, it s going to be difficult. - it sucks, yeah. - it s going to be tough. - but i hear you. i mean, yeah, i i just think there has to be a choice made, you know, independence or statehood. - yeah. - i m more selfish. - well - because i i grew up in the states. so i want puerto rico to be a state. - it s never too late. if we have performed great on the past, it means that there is blood, that there is identity, that there is proud in puerto rico. and i invest all myself on that because i m pretty sure, from the ashes, they re going to come out a new era. so i m passionate about - i can see that. - i m passionate about it. [laughs] - good luck with that. - thank you. - i hope to come back and see a beautiful thriving
do you think the dna test helps? - right. i had had a feeling. - ah. - mixed race people are one major side effect of colonization. and being latino means that you are intrinsically of mixed blood. but who gets to decide how much of your dna makes you part of any one community? if indigenous blood is measured as proof of tribal membership, then depending on who sets the standard membership could also be denied. for bebe naniki and pluma, measuring dna alone is not as valuable as the stories and traditions passed down from their families.
the government has basically said it s theirs. and there s no more native people here. so they are the ones to take care. they see this as a dead place. those stones that you re going to see are live beings. they re not just stones. you know, every part of this area is sacred. - incrreíble. it s the same fight of indigenous people - all over the world. - all up and down north, and south, and central america to protect their lands, to get respect, to protect what was theirs, and and to get something back from what was stolen. so how many taíno are living and existing today? smithsonian magazine has reported that 61% of all puerto ricans have trace taíno dna. but here s the thing, the puerto rican government does not recognize the existing members of the taíno community as an active tribe because the percentage of taíno dna in their blood isn t high enough to qualify. without representation and, at the very least, acknowledgment, what chance do the taíno people have of getting